As both a nanny and a parent, I think it's only the right thing to do to respectfully tell a nanny as soon as you know that your child is ill and could be contagious. Then I would leave it up to the nanny's discretion as to whether she wanted to come in or not. I know there are some families who do not agree w/me on this and believe that it all comes w/the territory. They say that school teachers are exposed to germs all the time and so forth, but I say if a parent KNOWS that a child is ill and is contagious, it is just morally wrong to expose another person to him or her for any reason. And if I did expose my sick child to my nanny, then it would only backfire later on because I would end up missing work in a week or so later while my nanny was home sick nursing what my child gave her.

Anonymous wrote:As a live-out nanny, I totally expect and accept having to care for a sick child, contagious or not. I know that is part of the reason my employers have chosen me over daycare. At this point I've pretty much built up an immunity to everything except for lice and Kardashians. What I still have to come to terms with is that every now and then a kid just feels so lousy that he needs his mommy. Isn't that an integral part of parenting? As so many MBs here are eager to point out, we nannies are not the parents. And this is true. How much can truly be outsourced?

I'm an MB and I totally agree that sometimes a sick child just wants mommy and that is something that I struggle with and why I need a really good nanny. I'm a physician and unfortunately that means I have to go to work no matter how much my child wants me to stay home. Can you imagine if you took a morning off from work and got a call at 8am to say, "I'm sorry but Dr. X had to cancel your appointment today because her child is sick." I'd bet you'd never go to that doctor again and I'd also bet that unless that doctor worked for herself she'd be out of a job if it happened more than once.

If one of my children were really sick, as in having to go to the ER sick, I'd stay home in a second. My children will always be the most important things in the world to me but I can't afford to lose my job either. It kills me if I can't be there when I really want to but fortunately we have a great nanny for our children so I know they are in good hands when I'm not there.

As a live-out nanny, I totally expect and accept having to care for a sick child, contagious or not. I know that is part of the reason my employers have chosen me over daycare. At this point I've pretty much built up an immunity to everything except for lice and Kardashians. What I still have to come to terms with is that every now and then a kid just feels so lousy that he needs his mommy. Isn't that an integral part of parenting? As so many MBs here are eager to point out, we nannies are not the parents. And this is true. How much can truly be outsourced?

Anonymous wrote:I work through an agency that has a sick care policy basically stating that nannies provided through their agency will watch children with a variety of illnesses (stomach bugs, colds, if the child is on antibiotics). I typically get a text from my families as a courtesy if someone in their house is sick.
The agency policy also states nannies do not work if the child has head lice, a fever above 103, a highly contagious virus (think H1N1), or other contagious infection where the child has not been on antibiotics for at least 48 hours.

I understand other professions (like those in the medical field) deal with contagious stuff all the time but I didn't go to nursing school or to med school so please don't expect me to watch your seriously ill child.

Agencies have that policy because when their nannies provide temporary care for a family they are also working with other families at the same time. Once a nanny is hired full-time by a family that policy no longer applies. You might not be in the medical field but if you don't want to be exposed to various illnesses don't go into childcare. Find another profession. What do you think doctors or nurses do when their children are sick? They still have to go to work and need a nanny to stay with their children.